"Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

As we wrap up our Belief Series, today's episode looks at God's Kingdom, 'The Peaceful Kingdom', and how Jesus showed us through His actions here on earth just how the Father intends to bring about His Kingdom. He doesn't 'need' every knee to bow to Him by force – He wants everyone to share in His Kingdom, His Glory, His Goodness.

Verses:

Philippians 2:9-11

Isaiah 45:22-23 / Romans 14:11

Isaiah 9 – Who He Is

Isaiah 11 – His Peaceful kingdom

Psalm 95:10 – God’s way, enter rest

1 Corinthians 13 – "If without Love, I am nothing"

1 John 4:18 – "Perfect love casts out fear; fear has to do with punishment."

Matthew 3:11 – Baptize with Water, Holy Spirit, Fire

John 13:35 – "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples: that you love one another."

Matthew 7:21 – "Depart from me, I never knew you..."

"For the whole fullness of deity dwells in Him bodily, and you have come to fullness in Him..."

This declaration is easy to overlook, and perhaps worse, it's easy to misunderstand or even disregard. And yet, it's not the only place that it's mentioned - there have been countless books and Bible studies written entirely about the 'In Christ Identity,' all with different examples from Scripture.

In continuing our Belief Series, this episode feels like the culmination of all the topics we've covered up to this point. In fact, it sums up quite nicely what we believe to be the overall theme and purpose of our show.

As you listen today, be encouraged by knowing that this Word is on the earth at this time on purpose: it's for you, for me, for all of us in His body, "so that we may come to maturity and reach the fullness of the stature of Christ."

Verses:

Colossians 2:9-10

Colossians 1:27

Ephesians 4:13

1 Corinthians 3:16, 3:21; 4:38, 47-48

2 Corinthians 1:20; 3:18-20

1 Thessalonians 2:14

Hebrews 6:1-2

2 Peter 1:3

1 John 3:1-2, 4:17

Revelation 1:6; 1:12-16

Galatians 2:20

Romans 6:3; 4:8

Romans 8:9, 29

Philippians 3:8-9

Job 31:1 - "uphold the covenant with your eyes"

Revelation 2-3 letters to 7 churches

2 Corinthians 5:19 - "reconciling the world to Himself"

"Be still, and know that I Am God."

For a word that appears 74 times in the Bible, we still don't have a complete understanding of what 'Selah' really means. There are several accepted definitions and ideas, but the one that seems to surface most often is "Pause in His Presence."

That's the theme of today's episode: pause in His presence. As we continue our Belief Series, we discuss how to really pause in/with Him, as well as the importance of returning to that much and often through our journey.

Verses:

Psalm 46:10

Philippians 4:7

Exodus 14:14

Ephesians 6:13

Isaiah 30:15

Hebrews 11:6

Matthew 6:33 - do not worry, seek first the kingdom

Luke 10:42 - Mary and Martha

We can find the words "The Lord is near" throughout the entirety of the Bible. But what does it really mean? Is that 'near' as in Space? Time? Proximity? Depth, height, breadth, width?

In continuing our Belief Series, we look at not only what it means, but how we can live in loving response to this Truth.

Verses:

Philippians 4:4-5

Psalm 139:7-10

Isaiah 29:13 – "because this people draw near with their mouth, while their hearts are far from me"

Korban (Greek), Qorban (Hebrew) – draw near; offering

Genesis 4 – Cain & Abel

Draw the Future to now: Moses Tent meetings/Show me Your glory (Exodus); David living with Holy Spirit (Psalm 52); Mary at the wedding (John 2:1-11); "even dogs get scraps" (Matthew 15:26)

James 4:8 – Draw near to God and He will draw near to You

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and His Spirit dwells in you? ...For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."

This amazing declaration found in 1 Corinthians 3:16 is a foundation of today's episode. As we see in Exodus 40 with the instruction to Moses about the tabernacle, or in Kings/Chronicles with Solomon and the Jerusalem Temple, it's clear that these structures which God comes to fill and rest His Glory upon are important. How much more important, then, to know that YOU are now the Temple He resides in, that the fullness of His glory fills you?

Verses:

Exodus 40

1 Kings 8:27

2 Chronicles 7:1-16

John 2:19

Acts 2:1-4

1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20

Romans 8:11 "the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies"

In Exodus, there's a story that is only briefly mentioned that I had entirely forgotten about; and upon rediscovering it, it left me curious about its purpose or meaning... did you remember that God almost had Moses killed? I sure didn't. As we continue our Belief Series, this episode examines that story and a few others where God is illustrating for us just how impactful not believing Him can be.

Verses:

Exodus 4:24-26

Deuteronomy 28, 29

Luke 1:19

1 Corinthians 13 - Love

"What must we do to complete the works of God?"

"The work of God is this - believe in the one He sent."

As we dive into our Belief Series, this foundational episode explores how 'simple' it is for us to inherit the Kingdom - by believing in what God has said, what Jesus has done, and who we are now that it's happened.

Verses:

John 6:28-29

Luke 1:45

Ephesians 1:19

1 Timothy 1:17

Romans 1:20

Psalm 19:1 - "The heavens declare the glory of God"

John 14 - "If you've seen me, you have seen the Father"

Mark 9:23 - "everything is possible for the person who believes"

God is not a liar. We find this truth several times in Scripture, and most of us would intellectually agree with it – but do we believe it? Can we live in the truth of His Character, totally free of fear? We discuss this foundational aspect of Who He Is on our episode today.

Verses:

Numbers 23:19 – God is not human being that he should lie, not a mortal, that he should change his mind. does He speak and then not act? does He promise and not fulfill

1 Samuel 15:29 – He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a human being, that He should change His mind.

Titus 1:2 – In the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time

Hebrews 6: 13-18 – God did this so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us many be greatly encouraged. 

Psalm 145:13-17 – The Lord is trustworthy in all His promises and faithful in all He does

Matt 13, Mark 4 – Parable of Sower & Seed

Colossians 1:15 – Image of the Invisible God

The 'Original Sin' gets much attention. Understandably so, as it was when life changed forever for Adam, Eve, and all of mankind. In today's episode, we take a deeper look at the ramifications of that sin – not the "punishment" (our words) that God sent forth, but the effect on Adam in his relationship with the Lord. It's no different for us in our relationship with God right now – eliminating shame allows us to walk with Him as He intended, and perhaps more importantly, to become conformed to the image of Christ.

Verses:

Genesis 3

Romans 5:12

Hebrews 12:6 – For the Lord disciplines the one He loves

John 15:2 – My Father is the vine-dresser, He removes any of my branches which are not bearing fruit

Isaiah 27 – The Lord’s Vineyard

Matthew 6:33 – Seek first the Kingdom

Matthew 3:2, 4:17; Mark 1:15 – Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand

Luke 17:20 – the Kingdom of God is within you

Luke 10 – I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning out of the sky

Colossians 3 – The new man

Ephesians 1:12 – To the praise of His glory

Galatians 5:22 – Fruit of the Spirit

John 14:18 – I will not leave you orphaned

In Hebrews 4, God invites us to enter His Sabbath Rest. It may seem paradoxical, even counterintuitive, but the idea of "pursuit" of something or to go "get" something tells your mind, your body, that you currently lack that thing. Again, we are faced with the difference between Facts and Truth: facts change, but Truth stays the same. So while it isn't simply burying your head in the sand, denying reality, or toxic positivity, it's important to examine our heart beliefs and inner dialogue around "gaining" from Heaven. If God has made His Rest available, instructing us to "cease from our strivings and works," we can make every effort to shift from "pursuing" the promises of God, into resting in belief that "He has already given us everything needed for Life and Godliness"...

Verses:

Hebrews 4 – Rest, unbelief of Israelites

Matthew 14:13, Mark 6:34, Luke 9:12, John 6:5 – Miracle of feeding 5,000

John 13 – Washing of the disciples

1 John 3:20 – If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart

Matthew 20 – Parable of workers in the Vineyard

John 15 – Jesus is the true vine

Hebrews 11:1 – Faith is the substance...

Joel 2:13 – Rend your hearts and not your garments